Entries in Ali Jamali
(3)

1320 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update. Hojatoleslam Kazem Siddiqi is at the pulpit today, putting out the rhetoric on the Islamic Republic's nuclear talks with the US, European powers, China, and Russia.

Nothing much of significance, although rose-coloured glasses --- as with the international media's reading of Ayatollah Jannnati's sermon last week --- could see this as Iran's warming welcome to the discussions. Siddiqi said it would be in everyone's interest for all powers to "act rationally" in negotiations with Iran.

Siddiqi continued that Tehran is a rational actor, welcomes dialogue, and has repeatedly shown its goodwill, but now it is time for world powers to show their good intentions.

There was this important if general caveat, though, for anyone who might see this as concessions by the Islamic Republic ahead of the next meeting on 23 May in Baghdad: “The Istanbul meeting proved that the Iranian nation is powerful and will not retreat an iota from its rights.” And Siddiqi also put out the general denunciation of "global arrogance" seeking to create discord in the region while assuring that "vigilant nations" and Iran will not allow this.

1700 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has thrown another jab at the Government in his website message for the New Year: "We unfortunately witness the pursuing of indecent methods by those in charge, such as making lies and giving empty slogans to the people....The Iranian people are educated and well-informed and neither deserve lies nor promises which are impossible to be implemented....Those in charge should listen to criticism, and either convince the critics through logic or correct their policies.

Rafsanjani, who lost his post as head of the Assembly of Experts this month, even had a poke at the post-election repression: "What we should, however, definitely not do as Muslims is acting beyond ethics and eventually expose an Islamic society as disgrace."

1640 GMT: The Battle Within. Promient MP Hojatoleslam Hossein Sobhani-Nia has declared that the further the Government goes, the more dissent there is within the camp of the hardliners.

You see, they initially sought to hold formal elections but came to the conclusion that in order to stay in power and still put on a front that there is democratic rule, they needed to have an election process that suited them and ensured that certain individuals did better at the voting booths. This issue gradually continued, and during the 10th presidential elections when we witnessed the height of disrespect regarding the people's vote, our citizens finally responded strongly....

They [the ruling government] did not expect such a strong response by our citizens and resorted to oppression. Naturally, as the people's dissatisfaction increases, because they never expected such a reaction, in order to save themselves and remain in power, they resorted to increased pressure....

You [ruling government] claim to have stifled and inhibited the Green Movement. If that is the case, why then do you speak of the so called sedition on a daily basis? Why do you continue to speak behind people's back? Why are you so afraid to allow the slightest movement by the people? If the so called sedition is dead, then why do you continue to endlessly arrest innocent people?